Remembering
by wafflewinchester
Summary: Castiel lost his grace and forgot everything - about the Winchesters, the angels, everything supernatural. Dean has been trying to remind him ever since. Possible Destiel in the future. (I don't own anything!)
1. Chapter 1

Dean had been visiting the bar almost everyday for four months. He had good reason to, after all. Four months earlier, Castiel had lost his grace. Dean wasn't exactly sure how, but from that day onwards, Castiel had lost his memory of everything: Sam, the angels, everything supernatural. He'd forgotten Dean. So Dean had come to the bar everyday, trying to remind Castiel of who he really was. Dean was at least grateful that Castiel's name had stayed the same, rather than changing back to Jimmy.

It was another normal day. Dean ordered the same drink, he sat quietly sipping it while Castiel served other patrons, and later in the afternoon when business had died down, he and the angel - now a human - talked. Like ordinary people. Dean always felt a odd pain in his chest to hear Castiel speaking about things his angel self would never had understood, like television and sport.

But today was different. Today, Dean was going to try something new. After all, he and this 'new Castiel' had been friends for a couple of months now. They knew each other fairly well.

Dean put his drink to the side and beckoned at Castiel. The bartender finished pouring another customer's drink before going over to Dean.

"Want a refill?" he asked, gesturing at Dean's half empty glass. Dean shook his head.

"No, actually. I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner?" he said. Castiel blinked at him. Seeing the man's obvious confusion, Dean continued. "I mean, my brother and his girlfriend were going out for dinner, to celebrate the anniversary of when they met. They invited me along but, you know, third wheeling can get kinda boring."

He looked up at Castiel, silently hopeful. The bartender sighed and smiled slightly.

"I'm available at seven," he told Dean. Dean nodded quickly, relieved.

"You want me to pick you up then?" he asked slowly. "Dress smartly, it's at a damn fancy restaurant."

Castiel nodded, grabbing a napkin and scribbling his address on it. Dean grabbed the napkin and winked automatically. At Castiel's slightly alarmed look, Dean swiftly exited the bar. He didn't want to explain why he'd winked. He just hoped Cas would have forgotten by seven.

Time flew by for Dean. It was quarter to seven and he was wearing a dark suit with a stripy tie. Standing before the bathroom mirror, he stared at his reflection. He wondered how Castiel would be. He wondered if anything would change.

Pushing those thoughts away, Dean went and checked the address. Not too far away; he could probably drive it in ten minutes. He got into his glossy black Impala, recalling the last time Cas had been in it. A long time ago, it seemed. He drove in silence to Cas' address. Upon reaching the house, Dean hesitated before ringing the doorbell.

The door promptly opened and Castiel was stood there, smartly dressed and looking expectantly up at Dean. Dean stopped and looked at Castiel. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Castiel looked past Dean.

"Is that your car?" he asked, pointing at the Impala. Dean nodded, smiling. Castiel said, "Wow, she's a beauty," as he approached the car.

"Yeah, she's a classic. '67 Chevrolet Impala," Dean said to him. Castiel looked over.

"You've taken good care of her. Great work."

Dean opened the passenger side door for him and Castiel climbed in, almost hitting his head on the low ceiling. Dean climbed in behind the wheel.

"Let's go," he said shortly, revving up the engine.


	2. Chapter 2

When Dean arrived, Sam and his girlfriend - Amy? Amelia? He couldn't remember - were already stood outside the restaurant. Parking a few meters away, Dean turned to Castiel.

"We're here," he smiled. Castiel's eyes looked extremely blue in the dim light, making Dean's words catch in his throat. The angel, unaware of this, nodded and opened the car door warily, making sure he didn't hit anything with it. He and Dean went over to Sam.

"Abigail, this is Dean, as you remember," Sam said, gesturing at his brother. Dean made a mental note to try and remember her name. Sam looked at Castiel before looking expectantly at Dean.

"Who's this?" he questioned. Dean was momentarily confused. Sam knew who Castiel was. He then realized - Castiel didn't remember Sam, so if Sam knew his name, it might alarm the bartender.

"Oh, this is Cas. Um, I mean Castiel," Dean said by way of introduction. Abigail looked between the two.

"So is this like a double date?" she asked innocently. Dean froze and Castiel looked taken aback.

"No," Dean said quickly, "we're just friends."

Castiel visibly relaxed once Dean had said that. Sam looked towards the doors, one arm around Abigail's waist.

"Should we go in?" he said, more of a rhetorical question than one to be answered. The four found their table and sat down, Dean next to Sam opposite Castiel and Abigail.

Not long into the meal, Dean was having a drink when someone walked past. Their hand slipped - although it looked more deliberate - and spilled their drink onto Castiel's front. The angel jumped and looked at them. It was a young woman.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried, grabbing some tissues from her handbag and dabbing at Castiel's front. Dean frowned.

"Hey, lady," he said sharply. She looked up. Castiel looked over too, his expression showing his discomfort. Dean continued, "Why don't you let him deal with it himself?"

She stared at him before straightening up and smiling. Her eyes flicked between human and completely black.

"Demon!" Dean hissed to Sam. He got slowly to his feet and slipped Ruby's knife from its sheath, keeping it hidden up his sleeve. Castiel watched as Dean approached the woman. He rose to stop Dean but Sam laid a hand on his shoulder. He shook his head very slightly.

The demon saw the knife flash and smiled before raising a leg and kicking Dean into a table, splintering the wood. He dropped the knife, glaring with gritted teeth at her.

"You bitch," he spat. She raised an eyebrow before looking at Castiel, who was walking over. Dean half expected the angel to smite her, but he crouched next to Dean and helped him up. The demon left fast. A waiter hurried over to Dean.

"Sirs, y-you need to leave," he said, regarding Dean like he was a bomb. Dean sighed before looking back at Sam. Abigail looked completely shocked and Sam nodded by a fraction. It was their cue to leave.

"C'mon," Dean said, grabbing the knife and Cas' sleeve. Castiel stumbled after him. When they were outside, he turned and stared at Dean.

"What was that? Why'd you attack her with a knife?" he demanded.

"If you didn't see, she was the one who threw me into a table. I hadn't even got close to her yet," Dean said. He looked at Castiel. "I'll explain later. Right now, we need to get out of here. My place is closer."

Still confused, Castiel got into the passenger seat again. It didn't take long for them to reach Dean's house. It was raining extremely hard when they got out of the Impala. They hurried up to the door and had to wait a few seconds as Dean fumbled with his key. Soon, they were in the dry and the door was closed.

"Man," Dean said, brushing his soaked fringe from his face. "Some weather, huh?"

Castiel agreed with a smile. Dean grabbed his phone and glanced up at Castiel. "You wanna go find a towel to dry off?"

As Castiel left the room, Dean rang the pizza company and ordered a pizza. He figured it would be the only way to get good hot food in weather like this.

Meanwhile, Castiel was wandering the halls. He found the bathroom and grabbed a fluffy blue towel, drying his hair and checking in the mirror to make sure it wasn't sticking up funny. He was on his way back to Dean when he saw a photograph. He picked up the frame and held it close to his face.

It was Dean and … himself? The Castiel in the photo was wearing a trenchcoat and a twisted blue tie. Castiel squinted. There was no photoshop or editing but he knew that there was no way he had ever gotten a photo with Dean. He'd only met the guy a couple of months ago.

Slipping the photo under his jacket, he made his way back. The doorbell rang as Castiel was walking past the front door, so he thought he'd stop off and check who it was.

A man held out a pizza box. Castiel felt a hand tap his shoulder and turned to see Dean, who was holding some money. He paid the delivery man and closed the door, grinning at Castiel.

"Ordered a pizza. Thought you might be hungry."

He and Castiel walked into the kitchen, where Dean opened the box and got out two plates. He pushed one towards Castiel.

"Help yourself," he said.

"Dean," Castiel said quietly. "Do … do I know you?"

Dean looked up, puzzled. Castiel continued. "I mean, more than I realize?"

He held up the photo and watched Dean's face. It was oddly sad. Dean gently took the picture out of the frame and held it close.

"Yes," he said. After a short silence, Castiel almost thought that was all he was going to say, until Dean continued. "You lost your memories. You …" Dean sighed and looked up, deep into Castiel's eyes. "Cas, you were an angel. I mean it. 'An angel of the Lord', as you put it. You fell from grace, which is why you forgot everything. The angels. My brother. Me."

Castiel looked silently at Dean, absorbing and thinking over the information. Eventually, he looked at the floor.

"I wondered why you seemed so familiar," he said softly. Dean felt a lump in his throat. He reached out for Castiel's hand but the angel moved his hand away. "I … I need some time to think about it."

Sad but understanding, Dean nodded. He stood up and showed Castiel to where he could stay the night, in the spare room Sam sometimes used.

"Need anything, I'm just down the hall. You know where the bathroom is," Dean said. Castiel nodded. He smiled tentatively at Dean and thanked him. Dean shrugged it off and went to his bedroom, wondering why his heart was hammering so hard. He decided sleeping would be best for now.


End file.
